Pneumatically controlled portable heart massage apparatus



1966 c. H. JENNINGS ETAL. 3,291,124

PNEUMATICALLY CONTROLLED PORTABLE HEART MASSAGE APPARATUS Filed Feb. 21, 1963 ENT E g Charles H Jenmngs United States Patent 3,291,124 PNEUMATICALLY CONTROLLED PORTABLE HEART MASSAGE APPARATUS Charles H. Jennings and Everett W. Vaughn, Ellicott City, Md., assignors to Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Feb. 21, 1963, Ser. No. 260,189 3 Claims. (Cl. 128--53) The present invention relates to a heart massage apparatus and more particularly to a portable heart massage apparatus for closed-chest heart resuscitation.

The technique of external heart massage or compression has been known for effecting blood circulation sufficient to sustain life in a heart arrest patient. Such massage can be performed manually by trained personnel, and certain heart massage apparatus have been proposed heretofore for performing the function with automatically-timed, gas-operated cylinder means, in behalf of relieving the relatively excessive physical demands required of the manual method.

It has been determined that in order to prevent damage to the heart arrest patients central nervous system, heart massage has to be begun before four minutes after heart arrest. While such previous heart massage apparatus performs an extremely valuable function, it nevertheless has been characterized by details of construction which tend to impose delay in its use at a time when a fraction of a minute may be critical and by an automatic pulse control system which relies upon an energy source additional to that which operates the massage cylinder and hence increases opportunity for failure of such apparatus to perform at the required time.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved heart massage apparatus which is constructed to greatly facilitate its use, and which employs an automatic pulse control system which obviates need for reliance upon the integrity of an additional power source.

General features of the invention include a portable frame construction which has a cantilevered cylinder-holding arm which extends horizontally above a bottom plate which may be slid under the patients back, and a control system which employs compressed gas from the same source utilized for operating the massage cylinder. 7

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description when taken in connection with the accompaying drawing in which:

FIGURE 1 is an elevation view in outline of a portable heart massage unit embodying the invention; and

FIGURE 2 is a three dimensional view of an alternate configuration of the apparatus of FIGURE 1.

Referring now to the drawings, the portable heart massage unit of the present invention comprises a generally C-shaped frame 1 which includes a thin, wide and flat bottom plate 2 to be slid under the back of a patient 3, a hollow rigid vertical column 4 projecting upwardly from a back edge of the bottom plate, and a hollow rigid arm 5 extending in cantilever fashion horizontally from the upper end of the column 4 directly over the bottom plate 2. The dimensions of this C-shaped frame configuration are such relative to the size of the patient 3 that portability is afforded for ready accessibility and a handle 6 at the back of the column 4 is provided to facilitate the carrying of the unit. It will be seen also that the C- shaped configuration of the frame 1 enables facile introduction to the patient by sliding the bottom plate under his back while in a horizontal attitude on the floor, table, stretcher, etc. To further aid in such introduction, the bottom plate 2 is tapered.

3,291,124 Patented Dec. 13, 1966 Carried by the arm 5 is a gas-operated massage cylinder which extends vertically in alignment with substantially the mid-point of the bottom plate 2. The massage cylinder includes plunger element 8 secured to the lower end of a piston rod 9 for periodically applying a force to the patients sternum to periodically compress the heart between the breastbone and the spinal column at a rate of once a second, for example. The plunger 8 is actuated by a piston (not shown) attached to the upper end of the piston rod 9. The piston is operated by compressed gas such as oxygen or carbon dioxide, for example, from a bottle 11 which is carried in a downwardly-extending recess in the vertical column 4. Alternate supply and release of gas to and from the cylinder 7 causes the plunger 8 to perform the required periodic compression of the patients chest. The cylinder 7 is adjustable vertically on the arm 5 to accommodate patients of different chest measurements, a lock (not shown) controlled by a handle 13 secures the cylinder in a selected position, and pressure regulating means determine the force delivered by the cylinder.

In accord with another feature of the invention, the control of the alternate supply and release of compressed gas to and from the cylinder 7 is done by a gas-operated adjustable frequency timing valve means 15 which is operated by gas from the same source of compressed gas 11 which is used to operate the cylinder 7. This assures that reliance need not be placed on integrity of an additional source, such as a battery, where such pulse control is electrically operated, hence contributing to the reliability of the equipment. Such gas-operated adjustable-frequency timing valve means, may be such as is available commercially, for example, from the Mead Specailties Company, Inc. in Chicago, Illinois, as the Model 1 Meadmatic Timer which is adjustable for time intervals from A; second to 4 seconds.

While the invention has been described and shown with a degree of particularity relative to an illustrative embodiment of the invention, it will be appreciated that the invention is not necessarily so limited except as lies within the scope of the appended claims.

We claim as our invention:

1. A portable heart massage unit comprising a C-shaped frame having a bottom plate for insertion under the victims back, a vertical column projecting upwardly from said bottom plate, and an arm secured to said column and extending horizontally over said bottom plate; a gasoperated heart massage cylinder vertically disposed on said arm, including a plunger constructed and arranged for application of pulses of chest-compressing force to the patient locally in the area of his sternum for heart resuscitation; gas-operated control means for controlling periodically-varying gas pressurization of said cylinder to cause periodic actuation of said plunger; a compressed gas bottle connected to said control means as a source of gas supply for operating both said controls and said massage cylinder; and hollow means in said frame removably supporting said gas bottle.

2. A portable heart massage unit comprising a C-shaped frame having a bottom plate for insertion under the victims back, a hollow vertical column projecting upwardly from said bottom plate, and an arm secured in cantilever fashion to said column and extending horizontally over said bottom plate; a gas-operated heart massage cylinder mounted on said arm, including a plunger constructed and arranged for application of pulses of chest-compressing force to the patient locally in the area of his sternum for heart resuscitation; gas-operated control means for controlling periodically-varying gas pressurization of said cylinder to cause peroidic actuation of said plunger; and a compressed gas bottle carried in said hollow vertical and column connected to said control means as a source of gas supply for operating both said controls and said massage cylinder.

3. A portable heart massage unit comprising a C- shaped frame having a thin wide flat bottom plate for 5 insertion under a patients back, a hollow open-top column secured to and extending upwardly from said base at the rear thereof, and a hollow arm secured to and extending cantilever fashion from a front edge of the top of said column over said bottom plate; a vertically-adjustable o cylinder carried by said arm and including a verticallymovable plunger for compressive engagement with the patients chest locally in the area of the sternum; gasoperated control means for timing and controlling admission of compressed gas to said cylinder for periodic actu- 1 ation of said plunger; and a bottle of compressed gas disposed in said hollow column in extension through its open top and pneumatically connected to said control means.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS RICHARD A. GAUDET, Primary Examiner.

5 L. W. TRAPP, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A PORTABLE HEART MASSAGE UNIT COMPRISING A C-SHAPED FRAME HAVING A BOTTOM PLATE FOR INSERTION UNDER THE VICTIM''S BACK, A VERTICAL COLUMN PROJECTING UPWARDLY FROM SAID BOTTOM PLATE, AND AN ARM SECURED TO SAID COLUMN AND EXTENDING HORIZONTALLY OVER SAID BOTTOM PLATE; A GASOPERATED HEART MASSAGE CYLINDER VERTICALLY DISPOSED ON SAID ARM, INCLUDING A PLUNGER CONSTRUCTED AND ARRANGED FOR APPLICATION OF PULSES OF CHEST-COMPRESSING FORCE TO THE PATIENT LOCALLY IN THE AREA OF HIS STERNUM FOR HEART RESUSCITATION; GAS-OPERATED CONTROL MEANS FOR CONTROLLING PERIODICALLY-VARYING GAS PRESSURIZATION OF SAID CYLINDER TO CAUSE PERIODIC ACTUATION OF SAID PLUNGER; A COMPRESSED GAS BOTTLE CONNECTED TO SAID CONTROL MEANS AS A SOURCE OF GAS SUPPLY FOR OPERATING BOTH SAID CONTROLS AND SAID MASSAGE CYLINDER; AND HOLLOW MEANS IN SAID FRAME REMOVABLY SUPPORTING SAID GAS BOTTLE. 